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Does anyone keep chickens?

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eddiecat78 Sun 26-Apr-26 10:26:38

I have two 2year old Speckledys who have started laying very soft shelled eggs which disintegrate in the nest box.
They have layers pellets plus some corn and access to grit/oyster shell and I've been adding a calcium supplement to their water but the number of problem eggs is increasing.
Any ideas?

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Whitewavemark2 Sun 26-Apr-26 10:45:33

I don’t keep chickens now, but I grew up around chickens kept by neighbours, relatives etc. I do know that if you give them too many scraps the shells get soft, and if the chickens are very young or elderly the same happens.

Assuming that they are in good health perhaps the calcium balance is wrong?

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Allira Sun 26-Apr-26 11:45:36

Assuming it's not a calcium deficiency, are they getting stressed for any reason? Do you have predatory foxes around or even a rat?

Crushed calcium is probably best, though. I remember my mother saying "they need grit" but I never asked what 'grit" was as a child.
I found this online:
Grit: Ensure they have access to grit to digest food properly
At 2 years old they should still be good layers.

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butterandjam Sun 26-Apr-26 11:48:05

Egg drop syndrome?

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eddiecat78 Sun 26-Apr-26 13:24:24

butterandjam

Egg drop syndrome?

I don't think so. They haven't been near anything that they could have caught it from.
They are permanently in a run rather than free range. There are foxes around but no sign of them trying to access the run
Other than the egg problem they appear to be in excellent health

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